140 East Ridgewood Avenue
Ridgewood, NJ
Bergen County
Tips: Located in Ridgewood Center, expect to wait. I went at 2 PM on a Saturday, and still waited a good 20 minutes. The restaurant is small with barely a waiting area. Most of the tables are two-tops or four-tops, and they'll do their best to accommodate a larger party, but that will undoubtedly increase your waiting time. Another important note - CASH only! Most items are less than $10, and small fees associated to any type of substitutions.
Every table gets a basket of cornbread. It's far more exciting than a dinner roll, but because of the mass quantity they make it, let's just say I've had better. My suggestion to you - try to hold your appetite for your meal - the dry, flavorless cornbread will just fill up your stomach, and trust me, you'll need that space!
Food: Let's start with the pancakes. With over 90 homemade pancake options, ranging in flavors from moist buttermilk to whole wheat peaches and honey to cornmeal onions peppers and onions, there isn't a flavor (or diner) they didn't think of. I personally am always thrilled when a restaurant offers fiberous (whole wheat/whole grain) options. You can get two LARGE (I'm talking pizza box size and definitely larger than a plate) sized pancakes, or four (slightly smaller version).
These pancakes are also thick so we're talking quantity all around. To give you an even better sense - I had #21-The Maine Delicacy which were blueberrys on whole wheat. The blueberries were the size of grapes!
Surprisingly, the pancake, even made with whole wheat, was surprisingly moist, and of course undeniably HUGE. Nothing can prepare you for the monsterous size of these pancakes placed in front - more like in the center - of your table. No one expects you to finish it all in one sitting and take out containers are all around the sides (though these standard boxes will not hold a pancake without bending it).
Aside from pancakes, they have many other breakfast (and lunch) options. They have over 30 omelet options - and we're talking a 9-egg omelett - that you can get over a waffle or with a side of homefries. I opted for the broccoli chicken tomato omelet with whole wheat toast and hashbrowns.
The same way you must love pancakes to order pancakes, you must love eggs to have an omelett here. The whole grain bread was delicious and gets a fiberous thumbs up.
Final Thoughts: I think the Country Pancake House is definitely a place worth adding to your foodie bucketlist. I'm glad I checked it out, but after the excitement of the gigantic portions wore off and I realized I had polished off the amount of food I did, I was slightly regretful.
Stop in during an off time (and remember, that even that off-time may not be off enough to immediately get a table) and have cash and your appetite handy! Again, resist the cornbread and would recommend getting more than just water to help something flavored wash down the food.
Happy Eating Bergen County, NJ!
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